but everybody who signed the pledge, including peter king who tried to weasel out of it, shame on him as the new york sun said today, i hope his wife understands that commitments last a little longer than, than, than two years or something. >> and zoraida, there you have grover norquist -- >> weeks. >> -- of course, from the americans for tax reform throwing out some pretty strong political hyperbole. but the fact of the matter is, as you said, fiscal cliff, 35 days away, and as we've heard from a lot of economists, if congress can't fix this, then we're in a lot of trouble. we can be heading back into recession. >> mark preston live in washington, d.c. thank you for that. so even if democrats and republicans get a spending deal done in time to steer clear of the fiscal cliff, derer thompson says it won't necessarily cure the economy. the senior editor of "the atlantic" joins us live in the next half hour. he has an interesting perspective. >>> ambassador susan rice heads to capitol hill this morning to mend fences with three republican senators. john mccain, lindsey graham and kelly